Victoria's Skyrim
by Jennawynn
Summary: A girl with a dream to open her own chain of retail stores finds herself in another world. M for violence... eventually.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

_Pat, pat, pat, pat, crunch, pat, crunch._ Victoria listened to the beat of her sneakers on the trail. It was usually so calming for her, but today, it just seemed like a countdown. Another notice had come in the mail. She was too far behind in her bills, and they were threatening to cut off her utilities. She pushed the thought out of her mind by picking up the pace and focusing on the burn in her thighs and the growing pain in her side. As she approached the final turn in the path, she briefly considered turning right, back onto the trail. Maybe she could outrun her problems just a little longer. In the end, she turned left, to the parking lot where her car waited. The sight of the dented Chevy depressed her. It was older than she was, and she often thought she could run faster than it could. It was falling apart and fixing it would be more expensive than replacing it, but it was just another item on a long list of things she could not afford. She looked through the windows into the backseat as she reached her door.

_Why did I watch that movie?_ She asked herself once again, rolling her eyes but knowing that she'd still check the back for an intruder the next time. She opened the unlocked door, sat down, and took a long pull of the water bottle she had left in the passenger seat. The cool Washington air and shade of the tall evergreens that gave the state its nickname kept it from getting too hot while she ran. She pulled the keys from the glove box and started home.

As she entered her small apartment, she purposely avoided looking at the envelopes on the counter. She locked the door, and went straight to the bathroom. As she stood under the spray of the shower, she realized that she enjoyed this part of her run nearly as much as she did the run itself. The run was about getting away from life. Once it had caught her, the shower helped to wash it away. The sweat and grime, both figurative and literal, was flushed from her skin and flowed down the drain. She reached for the shampoo, but when it gave a hollow sputter, she just stared at the bottle. Suddenly, the safety and comfort of the shower were ripped away, and in its place was the glaring reality of her situation. The wave of depression hit her like a physical force and she all but collapsed against the wall of her shower, sliding down until she was curled up in the corner, the water still beating down on her, mixing with the tears now freely flowing down her cheeks. Her memories joined in the assault, with images of her car and the pink envelopes on the counter mixing with those of her demanding boss and abusive father. The image that stayed longest was that of a wreath and a large picture of her mother when she was young and beautiful. _Mama, I miss you, _she thought.

The water was cold, her joints were stiff, and her skin had started to stick to the wall of the shower when she opened her eyes again. She shuddered and staggered to her feet, shutting off the shower. She pulled the towel around her as she stepped out of the shower and checked the alarm clock in her bedroom as she put a big purple Huskies sweatshirt on over some sweat pants. _Ugh, I must have been out for at least an hour._ Her stomach growled, but she had no energy to try cooking anything, so she simply put a bowl of Ramen noodles in the microwave. She still avoided the envelopes. The breakdown in the shower may have released some of the excess stress, but she wasn't ready to face it again. She sat down to eat her noodles while she read a used textbook for a future class, but she could not focus. She thought about where she had grown up, a smallish town in northern Texas, and wondered if she made the right choice to leave. _Of course it was. There is nothing left there for me. Not since Mom…_ She shook her head to clear the thought away. She quickly finished her dinner and went to bed, setting her alarm early to go for another run before work.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

The rosy tendrils of dawn had only started appearing when Victoria pulled into the parking lot of her favorite running park. She put the keys in the glove box, as usual, knowing that as little as she liked her car, no self-respecting thief would want it either. She stretched quickly and set out. The forest on the edges of the trail seemed darker and creepier, but considering that the sun wasn't even up yet, Victoria tried to dismiss the unnatural fear she felt. She scanned the shadows, searching for an unnatural shape as though she expected someone to jump out at her any moment. Just as she was starting to regret her early morning run, she heard something out of place. She slowed down and spun around, searching for the source of the noise.

"Help?" There, just off to the right. It was a small voice, a child. Victoria felt like she should continue running, get back in her car and go, but what if it really was a child who needed help? She couldn't just leave him.

"Hello?" she called. "Is someone there?" She stopped jogging in place and listened. She stepped gently into the trees, trying to make as little noise as possible. She stopped again, listening.

"Where are you, Mama?" the child called. Victoria couldn't see the boy, but she could tell what direction the voice had come from. She was tempted to let his mother find him, but she hadn't heard a mother yet. What if something had happened to her, or if he had wandered out here and was lost? Compassion overruled caution and she started pushing her way through the thick underbrush towards the child.

Soon she heard sobbing, and the boy cried out, "I wanna go home!"

"Hello? Do you need help?" she called out. There was the rustle of branches and bushes, and the sound rushed in the opposite direction. _He's running from me! I've scared him! _Victoria thought. She started chasing after him. "Wait! I'm just trying to help!"

She was chasing for a short time before she realized that she couldn't hear anyone but herself. She stopped and listened, a cold trickle on her neck and the buzz of an insect behind her ear. She turned around, but couldn't see where she had come from. The forest had enveloped any trace of her path. She tried to backtrack, but wound up even more lost. She was just about to call out when she heard voices. She started walking towards the voices, quietly. There were at least three men. She had just started thinking about the risks of announcing her presence when she felt a sharp pain on the back of her head and everything went black.

The creak of wheels was the first thing Victoria noticed as the black faded. She slowly opened her eyes to see that she was in a wooden cart pulled by a horse. She squeezed her eyes shut in disbelief. _A wooden cart pulled by a horse? What? Was I abducted by the Amish? _She slowly opened her eyes again and saw that this wasn't even the weirdest thing about the scene. The man driving the cart was wearing something made of leather and a leather helmet. There was another cart in front of hers, and a man on horseback in front of it. In the back of the first cart were four men, all dressed in rags with their hands bound. Victoria looked down and saw that her hands were bound as well, and to her surprise, there were three men in her cart as well!

Behind the cart was another man on horseback, looking like he was ready to stop anyone from trying to jump out. The three men were quiet, one with a gag in his mouth. Victoria groaned as she felt the pain in the back of her head and the man across from her spoke.

"Hey, lass. You're finally awake."

Victoria grimaced. "Where am I?"

"You were caught trying to cross the border in the ambush that was set up for us. I'm guessing that thief wasn't with you," he said, nodding his head towards the man next to him.

"Border? There are no borders nearby. What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, Victoria realized that she may have been unconscious longer than she thought, and that the men who abducted her may have taken her far from her dented Chevy and tiny apartment. She unexpectedly felt a longing to be back in that apartment, holding the overdue bills on her counter. The closest border to her home in Seattle was Canada's, but she had not heard of any sort of tensions with the Canadians. All the turmoil was on the southern border with Mexico, but there is no way this forest belonged near the Mexican border. The terrain they were passing was rugged and covered with snow and evergreens. _Canada it is then, though we must be really far north to have this much snow on the ground in September_.

"Maybe they hit you harder than I thought," the man replied.

Victoria looked down again and saw that her clothes had been replaced by the same rags everyone else was wearing. She felt a wave of nausea as she considered what else might have happened while they were changing the clothes of an unconscious woman. "Who are these men?" she asked.

"The Imperial Army," he replied, giving her a skeptical look. "Surely you know the Empire. Where are you from, anyway?"

_The what?_ she thought. _Oh boy. Better keep my mouth shut for now._ "South of here."

"Ah. I thought you had the look of an Imperial. Now the question is why they would capture one of their own. What were you doing out there?"

"It's not important now," she replied, looking away and indicating the end of the conversation.

"No," the other man said, "What is important is that you and I are not with these rebels. We shouldn't be here."

"Shut up back there!" the driver yelled.

The conversation stopped for a moment, and Victoria considered her situation. She had apparently been attacked and abducted while she was in the woods. There were two men in the cart that seem to have been the intended targets of this… Imperial Army, and another who was not.

"What's with him?" the second man asked, nodding towards the man with the gag.

"Watch your tongue, thief. You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King of Skyrim."

Victoria ran through her mental database trying to place the man's name or the word "Skyrim," but failed.

"The Jarl of Windhelm? The leader of the rebellion? But if they've captured you, where are they taking us?" The thief started looking about wildly, obviously shaken by this revelation.

"I don't know where we're going, but Sovngarde awaits." Victoria certainly didn't like the finality of the first man's tone. She was starting to feel a bit like that thief. "What village are you from, thief?"

"My name is Lokir. Not thief. Why do you care, anyway?"

"Your last thoughts should be of home. Perhaps it will bring you comfort in your final moments," he replied.

Lokir calmed some and replied, "Rorikstead."

The cart took a turn from the dirt path onto a cobblestone road and the edges of a village started to appear between the trees. Everything about it was wrong. There was a wall of stone, large wooden gates, and all the houses had thatch roofs. It was as if Victoria had woken up hundreds of years in the past.

A voice from inside the gates called out, "General Tullius, the headsman is waiting, sir!"

The man on horseback in the front of the column, dressed in armor and a red cape replied, "Good. Let's not keep him." He turned his horse to the side as the carts continued on through the town gates.

Lokir started calling out names that could only have been of his gods or patrons, praying for his life. The first man spat in the direction of the General. "General Tullius… and it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves."

Victoria's eyes flew wide open and she tried to get a good look at these men he was referring to. _Elves? Like pointy ears and magic, elves?_ She could see two men on horseback with golden skin and whitish hair. They looked tall, but she certainly couldn't tell if their ears were pointy. She was definitely starting to feel out of place at this point. She could hear other conversations of the townspeople and the first man, but she wasn't listening. Her head was swimming with confusion. The carts pulled into a town square, and Victoria caught sight of a large man with a large axe standing in front of a block of wood. _Oh no,_ she thought. _This is not happening._

A woman's voice called out, "Step forward when your name is called." She was about Victoria's height, but she wore metal armor and a metal helmet, complete with metallic plume, on her head. She looked like a Roman Centurion. A man in leather stood beside her and started calling off names from his paper.

"Ulfric Stormcloak. Jarl of Windhelm." The gagged man stepped forward and walked toward the block.

"It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric," the first man said.

"Ralof of Riverwood." _So his name is Ralof,_ Victoria thought, _though I suppose it doesn't really matter now. _Ralof stepped forward and joined Ulfric in the line.

"Lokir of Rorikstead."

The thief panicked. "No! I'm not with them! I'm not a rebel!" He started running for the gates, but the woman shouted for archers. They readied their bows and Lokir fell, two arrows in his back. Victoria was the last one from her cart, and just then, the man noticed her.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Victoria Drake. I am from Seattle. I don't know where I am. Please, I don't belong here."

The man studied her for a moment. "Captain, what should we do? She's not on the list."

"She's obviously lying. She goes to the block."

"By your orders, Captain."

"I'm sorry, Victoria. Join the others."

Victoria started feeling tears welling up in her eyes as she turned towards Ralof. She certainly didn't want to die as Lokir did, but was this any better? She stood beside Ralof and waited for a chance to escape. The General stood in front of the prisoners and spoke to the gagged man, Ulfric.

"Ulfric Stormcloak. Some may call you a hero, but a hero does not use a power like the Voice to murder his king. You started this war, and now the Empire is going to put you down and restore the peace." Victoria didn't even have time to question how a voice could be a power, as everyone turned toward the mountaintops at the sound of a great roar.

"What was that?" the soldier with the paper asked.

"Nothing. Carry on."

"Yes, General Tullius," the Captain replied. She motioned towards a woman dressed in long robes with a hood. The robed woman raised her arms in front of her and started intoning a prayer.

The man to Victoria's right stepped forward and interrupted her saying, "Let's get this over with."

"As you wish," she replied.

The Captain stepped up behind the man, forced him onto his knees, then forward until his neck was on the block. "My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?"

The executioner raised his axe and let it fall. Victoria turned away, sickened, and she knew that for as long as she lived, the sound of the axe cutting through bone and muscle and the sight of the man's head rolling from his shoulders would haunt her. She felt almost grateful that it would only haunt her for another minute or two.

"Next, the woman from 'Seattle,'" the Captain said with a sneer.

Another roar caused some stir among both Imperials and rebels, but the Captain repeated, "I said, next prisoner."

"Please," Victoria cried, stumbling forward. "I'm not one of them. I don't belong here." The Captain took her arms, stood her before the block and forced her down. The man's head was still there in the basket, staring up at her with blank eyes, and Victoria thought she'd be sick. She turned her head, but the view of the executioner was not much better. Then, from over his shoulder, she saw the source of the roar. What could only be described as a dragon was flying towards her.

"What in Oblivion is that?" the General asked.

"Dragon!" one of the townspeople cried.

The giant winged lizard landed on the tower at the center of town, just behind the headsman. It seemed to look around for something, then opened its mouth. Victoria expected fire, but the roar caused the sky to start swirling with orange clouds, then giant flaming rocks started falling from them. Victoria saw the headsman get knocked from his feet, and felt the Captain's foot fall from her back as well. In the chaos, Victoria saw her chance. She stood, shaky, and saw Ralof calling to her. "Over here! Come on!"

He was headed towards another tower, but Victoria wanted to run for the gates. She looked around, and half the town had already been demolished. Houses were flattened and the road was blocked with debris. The tower looked like the only thing still standing, and Victoria rushed towards it. Once inside, Ralof shut the door behind her. Ulfric was inside as well.

"Jarl Ulfric, was that really a dragon? Are the legends true?" Ralof asked.

"Legends don't burn down villages," he replied in a deep baritone.

"We need to go. Up through the tower!" Ralof said to Victoria.

Completely forgetting that her hands were still bound, she started scrambling up the stone steps. As she got near the top of the tower, the dragon broke through the wall and sent the expected jet of flame through the hole. _Was that a word it just said?_ Victoria wondered. The passage was now blocked up, but through the hole, she could see the rest of the village. There was a building not too far from the hole, and she could see the gates beyond that.

Ralof must have had the same idea. "See the inn on the other side? Jump through the roof and keep going! I'll catch up with you."

Normally, Victoria would not be so eager to jump so far, into a burning building, but when dragons leap off the pages of fantasy stories and start shooting fire and brimstone, the limits of what you are willing to do vanish. She took a deep breath and jumped.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

Victoria tried to remember to bend her knees as she fell towards the second floor of the inn, but when her feet hit, her knees buckled anyway. She fell into a smoldering pile of rubble and struggled to get to her feet before the floor collapsed. She moved forward, finding a hole in the floor at the other end. She dropped down to a table below and stumbled outside.

The Imperial in leather was outside with another man, trying to get a young boy to come to safety. Victoria almost screamed as the dragon landed behind the boy.

"Hamming, you need to get over here, now!"

The dragon reared up and shot a jet of flame towards the boy and the man, but they ducked behind the wreckage of a building just in time.

"Gunnar, take care of the boy. I have to find General Tullius." He looked at Victoria. "Still alive? For the record, I believe you. Stick with me, and we'll see if we can't get out of all this." The soldier turned and started running towards the spot that the dragon had just flown from. They ran through what must have been an alley, and dropped down a spot where the wooden porch of a building had burned away. "Stick close to the wall!"

Victoria pressed herself against the stone wall just as the dragon landed atop it. She was close enough to touch the scaly skin of its wing. It was black as night, and its eyes glowed with fury. It unleashed another jet of flame towards the other soldiers who were uselessly pelting it with arrows. As it took off, Victoria continued following the soldier. They reached another courtyard, this one at the gates. The General was there with several men. He saw the soldier and shouted, "Into the keep, Hadvar. Warn the Jarl!"

_Hadvar? What kind of name is that? And wasn't the Jarl the guy they were just trying to execute? Where are they, anyway?_ Hadvar took Victoria by the elbow and prodded her towards the large stone structure around the last corner. As they reached the courtyard, Ralof, the other prisoner, appeared.

"Out of my way, you damned traitor!" shouted Hadvar.

"We're escaping, Hadvar. You can't stop us this time. Come on, lass." Ralof ran over to one of the side doors of the keep. Victoria may not have known what was going on, but she had figured out by now that the Imperials were the law here. She decided to stick with Hadvar and try to clear her name rather than brand herself a rebel without a clue. Besides, how well could a group on the run help her find her way back home? As she deliberated with herself, she saw the dragon swoop in, lift a man from the walls, fly back up, and drop him. That was all the prodding she needed. She followed Hadvar into the main entrance of the keep.

With the door shut behind them, Victoria took a moment to catch her breath. "Well, Victoria, you certainly picked an interesting time to visit. Where did you say you were from?"

Victoria paused, but decided to be honest with Hadvar. After all, she'd be trusting him with her life. "I'm from Seattle, in the U.S."

"U.S.? What is that?"

Victoria shook her head. If dragons and elves hadn't been enough to convince her that she wasn't in Canada, that statement surely did. "It's not… here. I don't know what happened. I was running, I heard the voice of a boy, and when I tried to help him, I was hit from behind. The next thing I knew, I was sitting in that cart. I get the feeling that I'm a lot farther from home than what either of us thinks is possible." She let Hadvar take the bindings off her hands.

"Farther, eh? Outside the Empire? Are you even from Nirn? Oblivion?"

"I don't know what either of those two things means. We don't have dragons or elves in my world. At least, not in real life. Only in fairy tales."

"Well, we don't have dragons either, at least not until today. Look, we should keep moving. Riverwood isn't far from here. I have family there. We can figure out what comes next after a meal and some rest. First, though, we have to get out of here. See if you can find some gear."

Victoria looked around. There were beds and a few chests, so this must be where the guards or soldiers sleep when they are stationed here. She saw a few gold coins scattered across a table, some wine on a bookshelf, and a sword on the wall. _Like I'd know what to do with that,_ she thought. She opened a chest and found a suit of leather armor like the one Hadvar was wearing. She pulled a pair of leather boots out and a key that was hanging on the inside. She may not have time to figure out the armor, but she could at least put some decent shoes on. She took the old shoe, little more than a piece of cloth, and put the few coins she found inside, tucking it into her waistband. The sword was too heavy, but in another chest, she found a leather helmet. She pulled it on over her hair.

"Why don't you go ahead and take that sword. I doubt anyone will be needing it now."

"I don't know how to use it, and it's too heavy anyway. I'd be useless in a fight."

"Alright. Just stay back and try to stay hidden, then. I'll see if I can't get you out of here." Hadvar started down the passage and they could hear voices ahead. "Stormcloaks," Hadvar whispered. "Maybe we can reason with them." He opened the gate, but before he could explain, the two Stormcloaks charged with their axes drawn. Victoria watched as Hadvar parried one, slashed at the other, and before she knew what had happened, the two Stormcloaks were dead. She entered the room and saw that one, carrying a shield, was a woman. She took the shield, deciding that at least she could try to cover herself with it if she was attacked.

They continued through the keep and down the stairs. As they reached a long hall, the dragon roared from somewhere above and the ceiling collapsed in front of them. "Only way, now," Hadvar said, opening a side door. The room looked like some sort of kitchen with a large fireplace, rabbit and pheasant hanging by herbs, and more wine and bread on shelves. Two voices arguing about potions indicated two Stormcloaks also inside. Victoria waited nervously for Hadvar to dispatch of the two rebels before entering herself.

"See if you can find some potions. They might come in handy."

_Potions? And I suppose magic works too? _She started looking around and found a few bottles that were smaller than the wine bottles. At the sight of a loaf of bread, her stomach rumbled. "What potions are these?" she asked.

"Red ones are healing. Blue are for magic, and green give you energy," Hadvar explained.

She picked up the red and green ones she found, but had nowhere to store them. She picked up a sack lying on the floor and carefully placed the bottles inside. She took the loaf of bread and started chewing on it hungrily. _Surprisingly good,_ she thought. She wrapped the bottles around the arm holding the shield and followed Hadvar out of the room. The sound of a struggle ahead made Victoria press herself up against the wall again. Hadvar rushed forward. The sound of metal on metal clanged back to Victoria, followed by a groan, and then voices.

"Just in time, soldier. These boys were upset at the way we've been treating their friends."

Victoria came around the corner to see bodies in cages and what could only be torture devices. "There's a dragon outside. You have to come with us," Hadvar told the older man.

"Dragons? Please. You have no authority over me."

"Suit yourself. Wait," he said, "there's something in this cage."

While the two were talking, Victoria spotted a knapsack on the table sitting next to a dagger. She flipped the top open and found one more potion as well as some long pieces of metal. "Lockpicks," Hadvar said, taking one from her. She put her own stock of potions inside, then put the backpack on her shoulders. She took the dagger, figuring it was at least better than her fist. Hadvar popped the lock open on the cage and told Victoria to take the gold from inside. She put the gold into her pouch, and took the book sitting at the dead man's feet as well. She stuffed it into the backpack to look at later. She'd need to learn about this place if she wound up stuck for a while.

"Come on. Leave the old man," Hadvar said. They continued through the torture room until they came to an odd hole in the wall. Beyond it was what looked like a natural cave. _I wonder what did this, _Victoria thought. They kept traveling through, until they came upon a natural looking stream flowing down the center of the cave.

"A good rule of thumb is to follow the water," Hadvar said. Victoria tried to avoid stepping into the water, but slipped slightly. The cold of the water ran straight from her feet up her spine. The path turned away from the stream, and a skeleton grinned back at her. _Worst. Nightmare. Ever,_ she thought. _I didn't even watch any scary movies._ She noticed a small pouch sitting next to the bones. There was a small amount of gold coins inside, so she transferred her shoe-pocket's containers into it, then tied it to the inside of her waistband. As they continued on, Hadvar pointed out the spiderwebs covering the ceilings. Soon they covered the walls and floor as well. He walked into the room, and Victoria almost screamed. There were spiders the size of dogs attacking Hadvar. He easily put them down, but as Victoria walked toward him, two more spiders, these ones even larger, descended from the ceiling. This time, Victoria did scream. One knocked her down. She barely got the shield up over her chest and head when the spider's venom dripped down towards her. She tried to kick it away, but the shield was in the way. Hadvar rushed over and slashed the creature's head off, then helped her to her feet.

"Are you ok?"

Victoria nodded slightly, but she was terrified. Tears welled in her eyes, and she wondered if she would even get out of this cave, let alone back to her apartment. "It's alright, Victoria. This is nothing. Just stick with me."

She nodded again. They started forward again, coming across the stream in the next room. Suddenly, Hadvar stopped her. "Bear," he whispered. She looked ahead, and there in some filtered sunlight coming from the cracks in the ceiling, was a sleeping bear. "It's ok. She's sleeping. We should be able to sneak past."

Victoria started quietly sneaking past the bear, and around the corner. She glanced back to look at the bear, and accidentally stepped on a bone, cracking it beneath her feet. She and Hadvar both held their breath, waiting for the bear to move, but it didn't. Victoria exhaled quietly and continued on carefully. Ahead, they could see snow and sunlight.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

As Hadvar and Victoria came out into the sun, Hadvar pulled her down behind a rock. The dragon roared as it soared overhead and towards a nearby mountain range.

"We should be fine now. That was close. Come on, let's get you to Riverwood." The sun was starting to get low in the sky, and the path eventually joined a cobblestone road. Hadvar stopped and pointed at some stone arches on the mountainside ahead. "See that ruin up there? Bleak Falls Barrow. Place used to give me nightmares as a boy. Draugr creeping down the mountain to climb through my window at night. Still don't like the look of it."

"Draugr?" Victoria asked. So far, she could swear she was in a nightmare, but this man who had no issue with killing anything they'd come across thought what was in this ruin was scary. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear what was so frightening.

"Nobody knows why they come to life, but they are the bodies of our ancestors, shriveled and decayed. Some think they may serve the ancient dragon priests, and now that we can see dragons are not simply legend, maybe they are right."

_Great. Dragons, elves, magic, and now zombies, too?_

Continuing down the road, they could now see a river, and soon a circle of three stones standing upright. "These are the Guardian Stones. There are thirteen stones in all, each granting the power of gods through the constellations seen on the stone. These, the Thief, the Warrior, and the Mage each grant added insight into their favored skills. The Mage, obviously magic, the Warrior for fighting skills, and the thief for things like sneaking, stealing, and creating poison. All you have to do is touch a stone, and its power will come to you."

_Magic, fighting, or thieving, huh? Well, I don't even think I can do magic. It would be nice to know how to fight, but I'd rather just not have a need. Sneaking might be more useful, though I don't think I'd need to steal or poison. _"Well, Hadvar, I hope that I won't need to fight, if I can just avoid being seen altogether." Victoria stepped up to the Thief stone and placed her hand on it. The hole in the center started glowing, then a ray of light shot straight up towards the stars. "I don't feel any different."

"No, it's not like that. It just helps you learn a little easier and get better faster. Some people think it doesn't actually do anything, but I'd say shooting a ray of light towards the stars is something, eh?" Hadvar smiled, and Victoria grinned back at him.

As the sun set, they made it to the small town of Riverwood. A sort of stone wall with a covering for guards stood over the road on one side. A few buildings with thatched roofs lined the main street, and a large lumber mill straddled the river. Hadvar pointed Victoria towards the first building to the left, which was dominated by a stone pit full of hot coal. "My uncle, Alvor, is a blacksmith. His family should be able to help us out. Oh, but you might want to keep your other-world a secret for now. Best not to get people's suspicions up."

Victoria nodded. It didn't seem to work the first time, with the Captain, so Hadvar definitely had a point. "Hello, Uncle," Hadvar said, walking up the steps.

"Hadvar? What are you… Shor's bones, what happened to you boy?"

"We shouldn't talk here. Can we go inside?"

"Yes, of course. Who is this?" he asked, turning to me.

"She's a friend. I'll tell you all about it inside."

"Right. I'll have Sigrid fix you two up with a nice, hot meal. You sure look like you could use it." Alvor held the door open for them, and called out to his wife. "Sigrid! We have company."

A woman came up the stairs and smiled when she saw Hadvar. "Hadvar, what are you doing here? We thought you'd be in Solitude. You two look hungry. Come, sit. Let me get you something to eat."

"Thank you," Hadvar replied, motioning with one hand to Victoria that she should sit down.

"Yes, thank you," Victoria added, sitting in the seat Hadvar had pointed towards.

"Now, what are you doing here, and why do you look like you lost an argument with a cave bear?" Alvor asked.

"It's a bit of a long story…"

After a plate of stew, a hunk of bread, and a glass of mead, Victoria was feeling almost normal. At least the gnawing in her stomach had stopped. "Come, Victoria, let me see if I have something that will fit you so you can get out of those rags," Sigrid said, leading her down the stairs. She took a dress out of a cabinet and handed it to Victoria. "It should fit. When you're done dressing, we'll set you up in Dorthe's bed. She can sleep with us tonight."

"Sigrid, thank you so much. I don't know what I'd do without your help." Victoria dressed quickly, taking off the helmet, but leaving the boots on. Sigrid showed her Dorthe's bed, and she fell into it, exhausted, though it was only shortly after sunset.

Victoria awoke early, sore from sleeping on what was essentially some hay on a wooden shelf. She dragged herself up, determined to at least pull her own weight, and hopefully find somewhere to stay without being such a burden. Alvor and Sigrid were not likely to mention any discomfort of having their daughter squeezed into the bed between them, but Victoria still felt the guilt. Hadvar was up as well, eating some bread and cheese, and invited Victoria over to breakfast. She ate a little of the bread and cheese that were set out on the table.

"How was your first night?" Hadvar asked her.

"Rough. I didn't sleep well. My bed at home is much softer, and I kept seeing the dragon in my dreams. He was talking to me, taunting me."

"Talking, eh? He was just trying to kill me in mine," Hadvar chuckled.

_Odd sense of humor, _Victoria thought. _I wonder if he really had nightmares or if he is just trying to make me feel better._

"Well, I should be getting back to Solitude soon, and see if anyone else made it out of Helgen, but I'll see what I can do to help you here, first."

"Thank you so much, Hadvar. I really am just lost. I don't have a clue where I am, how I got here, or how to get back."

"Perhaps we should go somewhere quieter to discuss this," he said, nodding towards the family of three, just starting to rise. "Come on, we'll head out to a favorite spot of mine."

Hadvar waited while she put her helmet on, checked to ensure that her shield was fastened to her backpack, and hoisted the pack over her shoulders. They left the cabin and headed up a path between two larger buildings and past two homes. Once they had left the town, he turned right, off the path, and stopped at a grassy overhang. From their perch, Victoria could look out over the thatched roofs of Riverwood. Hadvar sat down, with his feet dangling off the edge, and invited Victoria to join him.

"Alright, Victoria. Tell me what you remember before we found you."

"OK, I was out running, and I heard a child's voice in the woods, calling for his mother. I should have just gone back to my car and called someone, but I…" She stopped as she realized that Hadvar wouldn't understand what a car was or how you could call someone with something other than your voice. "Well, let's just say that I was trying to find a boy in the woods when I was hit over the head. The next thing I know, I'm on the cart."

Hadvar pressed his eyebrows together in thought. "I have to admit, this puzzle seems a bit harder than I can help with. We found you at the Cyrodiil-Skyrim border, creeping up on a couple of our men. A scout caught you, disabled you, and put you in with the rest of the prisoners."

Victoria closed her eyes, trying to remember. "Yes, I think… I remember I stopped to listen for the boy, but I couldn't hear him anymore. Then I heard voices. I didn't know if I should call out or not. I was afraid that the men may have less than honorable intentions if they found me. Where I'm from, women have to be careful about who they talk to when they are alone."

Hadvar nodded solemnly. "Yes, I can understand that. It is not an unwise thing to fear. I am afraid that I do not know what I can do to help you. Perhaps a mage could help you. Surely there must have been magic involved in your appearance. The court wizard in Whiterun might help, then there is a whole group in the College of Winterhold, though that is quite a distance to travel."

Victoria sighed. "I suppose I'll have to figure out where all those places are first."

"First things first. Let's go to Lucan's shop and see if he has a map or anything else that will be of use to you. Perhaps some clothes of your own."

"Good idea. I would really like to be able to pay your uncle and his wife back for their hospitality and maybe find somewhere else to sleep."

"We can go to the Sleeping Giant Inn afterwards then. I'm sure they'll have a room open."

With a plan of attack, Hadvar hopped up to his feet, then helped Victoria up as well. They traveled back into town to the Riverwood Trader. Victoria searched her pack for things to sell, but realized that she had nothing to really part with, save a book with a fire in the shape of a hand on it. She sold the book to Lucan for fifteen gold pieces, and bought a map for twelve. Unfortunately, he had no clothing in stock, save a set of blue robes which Victoria bought for an added sixteen coins, leaving her with only ten. At least she could return Sigrid's dress to her. She could only imagine how few of them she might have.

"Let's see my uncle first. Perhaps he could use a hand at the forge." They crossed the road and saw Alvor sitting at his grinding wheel. "Hello, Uncle. Victoria wants to know if you could teach her some of the basics of blacksmithing."

"Sure, lass. Here, let's start with something simple."

It took several hours for Victoria to fully understand how to properly fold the metal, use the hammer and grindstone, and turn animal hides to leather, but by the end of the day, she could at least make simple daggers. Between practicing, she also watched Alvor fashion suits of armor and picked his brain over the bowl of stew that Sigrid brought out for them. She decided that she might actually be able to help around the forge to earn her keep, and possibly start to earn some gold of her own. Alvor paid her for her completed items, and in the end, she had twenty-two gold total. Hadvar had disappeared shortly after Alvor agreed to teach Victoria, and she wasn't sure where he had gone.

She decided to look around town for the inn that he had spoken of, and found it next door to the shop. She spoke to a blonde woman who introduced herself as Delphine. Victoria gladly handed Delphine ten gold pieces for the opportunity to sleep in a room by herself for the night. She also gave the bartender sixteen gold for something he called "horker loaf" that looked something like a steak. She was so hungry that she didn't even know if she cared what kind of animal it came from. She washed it down with a Honningbrew Mead that was in her pack, noting that she only had a single red apple to eat left for tomorrow. She was now out of money and would need to do something about it tomorrow. Perhaps Alvor would need more help.


End file.
